Female activists stopped from entering temple in west India

NEW DELHI – Around 25 female activists have been prevented from entering a temple in western India traditionally open only to men, a day after a Mumbai court ruled that women have a fundamental right to enter and pray inside temples.

The activists entered the Shani Shingnapur temple compound on Saturday, but were stopped from offering prayers in the temple's inner sanctum.

Police moved the women to a safe place after angry villagers barricaded the temple and said they would attack anyone who tried to forcibly enter the main shrine.

The temple, located in Maharashtra state, has become the focus of a protest by female activists who say they're fighting a centuries-old tradition of barring women from worshipping at some Hindu temples.